Pelosi and Hoyer Remarks at Press Availability Following Leadersh...( WASHINGTON Sept. 29 -- Speaker Nanc...),Health

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer held a press availability this afternoon in the Capitol following a leadership meeting in the Speaker's office. Below are their remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Good afternoon. We know you are there. We can see you. Thank you all very much for coming by so we can report to you that our conversations are moving forward, taking us closer to a resolution of some of decisions that we have to make on our health care reform legislation.

As we have said to you before, coming out of the three committees, we are about 85 percent in agreement and now in the 90s in agreement. And again, our goal is to have stability in our health care system, with affordability for the middle class, and security and protection of Medicare for our seniors. I'm very pleased with the participation of the leadership of the committees, of the leadership of the Congress, and on the ongoing meetings that we have all day every day with our members.

Every day, the issue at the top of whatever specific issue we are discussing with seniors, small business, or the impact on women, etc. -- the overarching issue is lowering costs. And we spent another three hours today on that subject. That will be the subject of our Caucus tomorrow -- of our freshman meeting and otherwise. We are carefully monitoring what is happening on the Senate side in that regard. But again, as we lower cost, we must strengthen affordability for the middle class.

Mr. Hoyer? Mr. Leader?

Majority Leader Hoyer. The Speaker has been leading a number of meetings that we have had -- almost daily, so that we can assure that every American, as I said earlier today in my pen and pad, has the access to affordable, quality, health care at a price that the country can afford, a price that they can afford, and that small business and businesses can afford. And assure t
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